Lady Mage
by k8dagreat
Summary: Alanna of Trebond's grandmother, Ariella of Trebond, discovers that she has a large Gift and a great aptitude for magic.
1. Chapter 1

Ariella of Trebond admired herself in the mirror. Her long red hair was pinned back by a beautiful gold pin and her green eyes shone brightly from under long eyelashes. She didn't like to think of herself as beautiful. Beautiful was for ladies who went to the convent to become ready to go to court and find husbands. No, for Ari there was no beautiful.

"Lady Ariella?" Ari's maidservant Tisha entered the room.

"Yes?" Ari answered, turning away from the mirror to look into Tisha's round youthful face.

"Your father wishes to see you downstairs."

Ari sighed. "Did he say why?" Her father was always needing her for one thing or another. Ari was the eldest in her family and lately her father had been rather ill.

"No, I didn't ask." Ari chuckled.

"I wouldn't either, Tisha. He can be rather… difficult." Ari and Tisha smiled at each other, sharing the joke.

"Father? You wanted me?" Ari bowed her head at the man lounging on the couch. In the past year, Lord Marron of Trebond had turned from a robust man into a skeleton. Hardly recognizable, his deep blue eyes were sunken and his long brown hair had turned white. His skin was withered and his hands shook as he sipped his tea.

"Yes, my daughter." He took a deep breath. It was difficult for Ari to stand in front of him. She felt powerless to stop whatever was ravaging his body. "I wanted to talk to you about entering the court. Several of my friends have brought to my attention that it is not suitable for a girl of your age to remain at home while others are learning to be proper housewives."

"But, father," she pleaded. "What good would entering the court be when I can do much more good from here taking care of you and Mother?"

"There is no one representing our family at court!" The excitement was beginning to be too much for him. He leaned back on the pillows, taking deep breaths. "Ariella, our family has been excluded from court affairs for the past decade. It has been brought to my attention… well…"

Ari sprawled heavily in a nearby chair. Her father sat up quickly, pointing a shaking finger at her. "You see! You have no idea how to do anything right! You can't even sit in a chair in a ladylike manner!"

Trying to rearrange herself, Ari scowled. "Well, if you agree that I have ladylike problems, why are you sending me off to court with no training?"

A grim smile slithered across her father's face. "We're sending you to train at the convent of the Daughters of the Goddess. You'll be there until they dub you ready to enter court."

"But father! All the girls there start at ten! I'm nearly thirteen!"

"Be a leader, Ariella. Be strong."

That was the last time she spoke to her father. How was Ari supposed to know that a certain Lady Nevie arrived at the gates soon after demanding to see her new charge? The next day, after goodbyes to her younger siblings, Ari stepped into the carriage, glancing back at Trebond for the last time.


	2. Chapter 2

Lady Nevie was a tall dark-haired woman. She had a very thin face that seemed to stretch her lips rather wider than was natural. Her eyebrows were thin and penciled in and her nose swooped like a beak.

The moment Ari saw her she knew there was going to be trouble.

Lady Nevie was ushered into the sitting room to find Ari sprawled on the couch with a book. She stood there for several seconds before Ari noticed she had company. Feeling lazy, Ari looked up from her book slowly.

"Hullo," she said.

The woman had fumed. "How dare you address me in such a manner! I was brought here as a guest and I expect to be treated like one."

Slowly, Ari pushed herself off the couch. As if mocking the woman, she saluted her, as the men in the king's army did.

Lady Nevie sputtered in anger. "You will show the proper respect! I am a Lady Nevie of the Court."

Ari folded her arms. "What do I do?" she asked, showing no emotion.

The woman let out an exasperated noise then took a deep breath, as if calming her temper. "When a guest enters you must look eager to display the proper courtesy. You must get up in a ladylike manner, swishing your _skirts_." Lady Nevie looked down at Ari's worn trousers as Ari blushed and muttered an exuse.

"That will be taken care of. But you must curtsy as well. A woman never bows or salutes." She grimaced at Ari.

Ari was already hating her new life.

The carriage rumbled away from Trebond towards the convent. Ari would have much rather rode, but Lady Nevie thought that would be unladylike. She was told to sit strait-backed and read through an etiquette book while they rode.

They were escorted to the convent by a group of rowdy palace guards who had come with Lady Nevie. They didn't seem to mind her scolding; they laughed at her and teased her in a motherly fashion. Ari was surprised that anyone would look upon this woman in a "motherly" way. Lady Nevie was certainly surprising her.

They stopped at inns along the way and Ari shared an adjoining room with Lady Nevie. Ari was forced to stay up late learning new skills such as how to walk gracefully. Her thirteen years in the saddle had not helped her posture. She was also taught how to apply cosmetics, something Ari found dull and pointless.

Their second night on the road, Lady Nevie retired early, saying there was no lessons that night and her charge had better behave herself. She gave Ari a very dull book on the history of Court etiquette to read.

As soon as Ari was alone in her room she tossed the book onto her bed and made for the door. She could hear the sounds of music and laughter coming from below. There was no way she was going to miss that. Anyways, dancing would help her forget her homesickness.

She tiptoed past Lady Nevie's door, holding her plain blue skirt above her ankles to keep from tripping. She hurried down the stairs and down to the large dining room. There were several instrumentalists in a corner playing a lively tune and all the chairs and benches had been pulled to the sides. People were dancing wildly, their faces alight with happiness.

Trying to blend into the crowd, she was immediately asked for a dance by one of the young men. He didn't seem to know who she was, so she happily spun around, laughing. This was one of the dances her grandmother had taught her years ago.

She spun from partner to partner, her raid hair spinning through the air like a bright tornado. Her white skirts swirled around her and her cheeks were flushed. She never really spoke much to her partners while they were dancing. But afterwards she would chat merrily to some of them.

After about a dozen dances, Ari was taking another break. She spotted out of the corner of her eye the dark blue of a soldier's uniform. She gasped slightly as she recognized the man as one of the soldiers in her entourage. She tried to keep her head down, hoping he wouldn't notice her as she sipped her mug of water.

"Lady Ariella?" Ari swore under her breath and looked up into the soldiers young face. He looked about twenty-five. His face was beardless and his eyes danced with mischief. "May I have a dance?"

Ari let her breath out in relief. He wasn't going to tell on her. Nodding, she headed back to the dance floor, praying that there would be no other surprises that night.

Unfortunately, around midnight Lady Nevie arrived red-faced downstairs and dragged Ari back up yelling about children and how immature she really was. Ari didn't complain. She was beginning to understand how fierce Lady Nevie's temper was when it was pushed to the edge.


End file.
